Method of making guard rings for gas cylinders



y 9. 1960 L. B. CQURTOT m1. 2,945,294

METHOD OF MAKING GUARD RINGS FOR GAS CYLINDERS Filed June 14, 1957 INVENTORS LOUl-S e. @COURTOT k GEORGE E. TAN/(ER "A T95. F X

limited sate METHOD OF MAKING GUARD RINGS FOR GAS CYLINDERS Filed June 14, 1957, Ser. No. 665,761 4 Claims. (Cl. 29- 4'75) This invention relates to pressure vessels and more particularly to a steel tank or bottle employed for the storage of liquefied petroleum gas.

The wide current use of liquefied petroleum gas for domestic use has resulted in the adoption of a vessel for storing liquefied petroleum gas which may be easily transported. A type of pressure vessel used for this purpose includes a cylinder or bottle made of two deep-drawn complementary steel shells which are welded to each other. The lower shell is generally provided with a ring or foot support which will maintain the bottle or tank upright and the top of the upper steel shell is provided with an interiorly threaded opening to receive a valve for filling and for withdrawing liquefied petroleum gas. Numerous expedients have been proposed for protecting the valve or fitting at the top of the tank from damage in handling or shipping or when the bottle or tank is inadvertently tipped over. A common form of guard for the tank fitting is a band of steel, circular in outline, and Welded to the top of the tank and apertured to provide openings for the gas lines and openings for gripping the guard and thus lifting or handling the tank.

According to the present invention, a guard for the fitting and a handle for the tank is in the form of a single length of rod stock bent to provide an open frame work which facilitates access to the fitting and provides a convenient carrying handle having a number of advantages over the fitting guards of the prior art.

. It is an object of our invention to provide a fitting guard for a tank comprising a length of rod stock having the midportion thereof bent in the form of a part circle and having the opposite ends thereof bent downwardly and rearwardly and thence upwardly and welded to the part circle of the mid-portion and wherein said bent guard is Welded to a curved surface at the top of a metal tank.

It is a further object of our invention to provide a fitting guard for a metal tank which includes a length of rod stock curved to embrace more than 200 about the fitting and having four depending leg portions connected to eachother in pairs so as to embrace about 90 at each side of the fitting. I

Further objects and advantages relating to low cost, rigid construction and providing improved access to the tank fitting, will appear from the following description and the appended drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a tank having a fitting guard made according to our invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective showing of the fitting guard applied to the tank and portions of the tank broken away;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a foot or bottom support for the tank according to our invention; and

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic illustration showing the upper and lower portions of the guard ring being disposed in parallel upper and lower planes.

The tank or container according to our invention comprises, as indicated in its entirety at 10, an upper deepatcnt 2 ice drawn steel cup 10a and a lower deep-drawn steel cup 1% with the cups being welded to each other at the seam as indicated at 11. The tank construction illustrated has been approved generally by the industry and is enjoying wide current use. Preferably the lower portion of the tank is provided with a foot or base made up of two bent pieces of rod stock. One bent piece 12 has its outer ends 16 and 16a turned upwardly and welded as at 16b and 16c to the lower curved wall of the tank 10. The mid-portion 12a of the bent piece 12 is welded to the bottom of the tank at the center and thus the upstanding leg portion 16a and 16b maintains the major portions of the piece 12 in a plane normal to the vertical axis of the tank. A similarly bent piece of rod stock 13 is welded to the bottom of the tank as at 13a and the upstanding legs at the ends of the portion 13 co-operate with the bent piece 12 to maintain the tank upright on the ground or other surface where the tank may be placed.

The open frame nature of the foot or support for the tank prevents the accumulation of moisture underneath the tank and thus protects the tank from corrosion.

The upper portion of the tank 10 is provided with a threaded boss 18 which is welded into an opening in the deep-drawn cup 10a during the manufacture of the tank. The member 18 is interiorly threaded to receive the threads 19 on a depending boss on valve 20. The details of the construction of the valve 20 form no essential part of the present invention but it will be understood by those skilled in the art that such valves are constructed so that a tank may be filled through such valve and also that a domestic supply line may be connected to the threaded boss 22 on the valve. The valve adjacent the threaded portion 19 is provided with a hexagonal portion 29a so that a wrench may be used to tighten the valve into the position shown in Fig. 2.

The combined guard and handle according to the present invention is made from a single length of rod stock. The midportion of the rod stock is bent in a circular form but is less than 360. The circular portion is indicated as extending from 23 on the right-hand side, as viewed in the drawings, to 24- on the left-hand side. Preferably the circular portion at the top of the guard extends around the valve or fitting 20 for about 270. The result of this arrangement is that if the tank is tipped over against a wall or the like on the open side between areas 23 and 24, the valve is protected against hitting such wall extending across the areas 23-24. The right-hand end portion of the rod stock beyond area 23 is bent downwardly as at 25 and thence rearwardly therefrom as at 27 to provide an arcuate foot 26. Said arcuate foot 26 extends rearwardly directly beneath the upper portion of the curved guard ring to a point 27a and thence upwardly as at 25a Where it is welded as at 28 to the upper section of the guard ring. The left-hand portion of the rod stock is similarly bent downwardly as at 25b from the area 24 to a point 29 and thence rearwardly as at 26a. The portion 26a is curved to correspond to the upper part of the curved guard ring. The portion 26a is bent upwardly as at 27b and the leg 25c is welded to the upper portion of the guard ring at 28a.

From the foregoing it will be observed that a guard ring is provided extending from the area 23 in a circular path around to area 24 for about three-fourths of a circle about the central axis of the tank and that this guard ring is rigidly supported in a plane above the uppermost portion of the valve 20. Since the guard is in effect open at one side between the uprights 25 and 25b the piping leading from the tank to the domestic supply line may be moved vertically through this open side of the guard ring. The four spaced legs 25, 25a, 25b and 250 are substantially elements of a cylinder and are spaced from each other about thus providing four widely spaced areas for using a wrench on the fiat round rodstock disposed in the horizontal plane above.

the valve 20 provides asmooth, convenient handle for lifting the. tank 10. The open areas between the bends 27, 27a, 27b and 29 prevent the entrapment of snow or rain within the guard ring so that corrosion by the elements is minimized. 'The valve 20 has a relief valve section (not shown) diametrically opposite outlet 22. Discharge from this relief valve is not restricted or deflected with this novel guard ring.

. The. guard. ring of this. invention is characterized. by having an upper portion disposed in a horizontal plane A which is above the top of the valve 20 and lower portions 26 and 26b which are curved in a horizontal plane B. It will be observed that the curvature of the portions 26 and 26a accommodates the curved top surface of the tank or cylinder and facilitates the Welding of such portions to the tank. The curvature of the portions 26 and 26a in the plane B corresponds generally to the curvature of the upper portion extending from the bend 23 around to the bend 24 located in the plane A. Thus in the preferred form of our invention we have provided a guard ring of generally'cylindrical shape with parallel end portions which facilitates the bending of the rod into the specific form as shown and described.

Although we have, shown and described one form of our invention in considerable detail, it will be understood that variations may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. That method of making a tank valve guard ring which comprises cutting a length of rod stock, curving the mid-portion of said rod stock to provide a circular horizontal portion enclosing a valve on a tank for about 270 and bending the end portions of the stock at right angles to said mid-portion and thence generally parallel to the circular mid-portions of the ring and conforming to a tank surface and thence upwardly from the tank and Welding the extreme end portions of the rod stock to the circular mid-portions to provide a circular mid-portion spaced from the tank by four spaced legs and thereafter welding the lower extremity of each leg to the tank.

2. That method. of making a guard ring for a gas tank having an upright valve which comprises cutting a length of rod stock, curving the mid-portion of said rod stock to provide a circular horizontal portion proportioned to enclose a valve on a tank for about 270 and thereafter bending the end portions of the stock at right angles to 4 the circular portion and thence generally parallel to the circular horizontal portion of the ring and thence upwardly, welding the extreme end portions to the circular portion to provide a circular portion spaced from the tank by four spaced legs and thereafter welding a lower extremity of each leg to the tank.

3. That method of making a guard ring for a tank having a domed top portion provided with a fitting which 7 comprises cutting a length of rod stock and bending the intermediate portion of said length of rod stock in a generally horizontal circular path proportioned to enclose a fitting on a tank for about 270, bending the extreme end portions of the length of stock. into a plane normal to the circular path so as to space the circular path of the guard ring above the uppermost portion of the tank fitting and further bending the extreme end portions of the length of rod stock so as to conform to the domed surface of the tank for about around a fitting and thereafter bending the extreme end portions of the length normal to the said circular path and welding the extreme end portions of the length to the underside of the guard ring'in said circular path and welding the portions of the guard ring conforming to the tank at each end of said portions.

4. That method of making a guard ring for a tank having a domed top portion provided with an upright fitting which comprises cutting a length of rod stock and bending the intermediate portion of said length of rod stock in a generally circular path to enclose a fitting on a. tank above the fitting for about 270, bending the endportions of said length of stock into a plane normal to the circular path to support the circular path of the guard ring above the tank fitting and further bending the end portions of the length of rod stock in a curve so as to conform to a domed surface of the tank for about 90 around the fitting and thereafter bending the extreme end portions of the length normal to the circular path and welding the said extreme end portions of the length to the underside of the guard ring in said circular path and Welding the portions of the guard ring conforming to the tank at each end of said portions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNXTED STATES PATENTS Belgium Sept. 30, 1952 

